Elder "C" in Germany: UH OH!

Dear Family,

So I wrote an email, and I thought that I sent it, but I got a Dear Elder today that said you didn't get any email...so, I will write this letter instead.

So in the email, I asked what our telephone number was so I could call you at the airport, but it's Saturday now, so I wouldn't get the dear elder until Monday evening, so that won't work too well. (We didn't get a phone call today...)

So I sent you some pictures that I have taken, you're probably wondering what happened to my eye ha ha. I was playing basketball, I was guarding this Elder with the ball, and he like jumped backwards to try and shoot backwards...or something like that, he tried to explain what he was doing but it made no sense to me.

So I got a black eye, but, it wasn't that bad. I put some ice on it and figured I'd have a little shiner for a couple of days.

My companion and I went to our room after gym so I could put my glasses on since my contact fell out. After my glasses had been on for about a minute, I felt them moving...My eye started to swell so fast I could look in the mirror and watch it get bigger. By the time I left the room my eye had closed. I couldn't see out of it, and I couldn't get my glasses over it either. I went to the clinic, and they loved the thing. I spent like 30 minutes taking pictures with the nurses in the clinic and explaining what had happened. They then decided I should probably go to the ER to get it drained...so I did.

At the ER I waited another like 30 minutes for the doctor to come look at me and then another 30 for him to poke it with a needle...and drain it...and then stitch it up. He then said it would bleed for a while, so he gave me an eye patch. It ended up bleeding for an entire day, 22 hours to be exact.

So yeah, I'm going to Germany on Monday with a nasty eye, but that's okay, it's a good conversation starter, Right??

I've told you about my companion and some of the problems, but there was a pretty cool thing that happened. So we were going to the temple, and he had prayed to see what we should do. He told me he felt like we should do sealings, so that was the plan. As we started to change into our temple clothes, I had the strongest feeling like we should go through the endowment session instead, so I told him, he was quiet for a bit, but then he agreed. So we went through and did all of that cool stuff, but later that night my companion wanted to talk to me. This was his story.

So when I told him we should do a session instead of sealings, he said he felt the Spirit so strong, he said it felt like he had been punched in the heart. But, almost immediately after, he got angry, he wondered why I would be prompted to do something different than him. He said for the rest of the session he watched everything I did, and would try instantly to think of something I was doing wrong, or what I could do better, and was basically glorifying himself.

Then in the celestial room, I was praying, and he said he was watching, and then he started to pray. As he started, he said he actually heard a voice say to him, "Don't compare yourself to your companion." He said he actually heard those exact words.

He then for some reason, started to compare how we teach and stuff which was...ironic and I had to remind him to stop. But ever since then... 2 or 3 days... He has been a lot more happy and hasn't been losing his temper, so I thought it was a pretty cool story!

Anyway, I'm happy, feeling great, and I can't wait to go to Germany!

Tschus!
Elder Collings

(Grandma Wright, you probably don't want to look... Steve actually sent me a photo copy of when his eye was at its worst. I couldn't get it posted, but it looks unnatural!!! Tracy)